News 8/20/19

After cops go after a stolen car near Hopland, a chase… Ukiah Police say they got a call from a woman who says her home was burglarized and her car stolen. Police saw the vehicle on the 101 and chased, but the driver took off past Hopland. They say one of the passengers in the car pulled the emergency brake as the car was in motion, so they spun out near the Green Bridge over the Russian River. The Daily Journal reports 2 women surrendered and two men took off into dense brush. The men have not been found, but the women were released after police find they were not involved in the burglary or car theft. They’re asking anyone who may know anything to call police.

Slow fire season so far. Cal Fire says the acreage burned this year is down 90% when you look at the average of the last five years. There have been 38 square miles of fires this year, down from an average of about 416 square miles in the same period the past five years. At this time last year, the Mendocino Complex fire was burning. And more than 970 square miles burned. Fires this year are down 15%. It only covers fires not on federal land, but the report also notes, typically the worst fires in Calif. have been in autumn.

The Ghost Ship trial is still going. The jury has had the case a few weeks with no determination on guilt for the two men accused in the deaths of 36 people at a party at the Oakland warehouse 2 ½ years ago. The judge has also dismissed three jurors and told the newly formed jury to start all over with alternates. The three month trial of Derick Almena and Max Harris now also includes a gag order for the lawyers on both sides, so they don’t speak to reporters. The fire broke out in the warehouse, turned artist space that prosecutors say was packed with musical instruments, furniture and flammable debris with only two exits and no smoke detectors, fire alarms or sprinklers. Almena and Harris each face as much as 39 years in prison if convicted.

An apartment house is being proposed next to the homeless shelter on South State Street. The Daily Journal reports Redwood Community Services is looking to put up 30 single-occupancy apartments. The community development director told the Ukiah Planning Commission at their last meeting they’ve had several applications including two for housing. One of those for transitional, supportive housing across from the shelter, and another for eight single-family homes on West Gobbi Street. The director says they’ve also had some applications to put in Cannabis manufacturing and cultivation and retail outlets in the area.

Cannabis business is booming in Humboldt County. Manufacturing is a big business in Eureka and Arcata. The director of community development in Arcata says the cannabis industry is bringing jobs to the area. There are more than 30 marijuana businesses up and running in the city. In Eureka there are 60, with more than half in manufacturing and distribution. In Eureka too, there’s been between 300 and 600 jobs added in the city in the cannabis industry alone. The city’s also both say the cannabis businesses are taking over and fixing old, dilapidated parts of the cities.

The “1,000 Hands to Protect Lake County Homes” project a success. Lake Co News reports Supervisor Rob Brown’s idea came to fruition last Saturday morning, the same weekend the Moose Fire that had burned nearby was declared 100% contained. The work to clear brush and debris along a six-mile stretch of Soda Bay Road from the Clear Lake Riviera to Soda Bay. Brown says he organized the event to protect the Soda Bay corridor against roadside fires. Brown was campaigning to get 500 volunteers, and ended up with 300. He says they got everything done he wanted to and finished early.

A suspected DUI driver on the run in Redding leads cops on a high speed chase. Police and the Shasta County sheriff’s dept chasing the driver and one passenger after they hit speeds of up to 100 mph before stopping because they hit spike strips. The driver id’d as Paul Cruz of Redding hit the strips after leading a chase for 35 miles. The car reported stolen the end of July in Redding. Cruz and his passenger Felicia Gensaw arrested early yesterday morning. Cruz on probation for drug crimes faces DUI, violation of probation and possession of a stolen vehicle charges. His passenger, Gensaw, for suspicion of possession of stolen property and of a substance which is believed to be methamphetamine.

Lake County needs a new CEO for the Fair. The current CEO, Courtny Conkle has accepted a job as manager of the Wyoming State Fair after nearly two years in Lake County. She will oversee the fair that runs Labor Day weekend, then start her new job in Wyoming Sept. 23rd. Apparently she grew up in the industry with her family working at fairs her whole life. Her dad owns Conkle’s Concessions. She’s worked here locally, at the Sonoma County Fair in Santa Rosa and the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma. She says her new position in Wyoming is a governor-appointed position. If you’re interested in taking over the Lake County Fair next year, applications are available on the fair Web site or at the office on Martin St. For more information, call the fair office at 707-263-6181.

Kelseyville’s school board is considering what to do with the old Kelsey Creek Schoolhouse at their next meeting. The Board of Trustees is taking up the matter at the meeting tonight, reviewing a couple of proposals for the schoolhouse. The old building would have to be donated to a nonprofit after an agreement by the board in April. In May they approved a request for proposals for nonprofits with a 60 day proposal submission period. That ended July 31st. Lake Co News reports the two proposals they received came from the Lake County Historical Society and the Lucerne Area Revitalization Association. One of the proposals to move the old building and the other to keep it where it is, renovate it and use it for events.

A vote coming on a proposed tobacco use prohibition ordinance in Clearlake. The proposal adds on to the places where smoking would be prohibited in the city. Right now there’s no smoking in any park, playground or recreation center. The new law would also add no puffing near bus stops, ATMs, at public events, near public buildings and several other businesses including bars and restaurants. There are penalties proposed for owners of businesses who don’t abide. There would also be no ashtrays allowed at the locations. And signs would have to go up saying there’s a smoking ban in place. It includes marijuana smoking, vaping and cigarettes. The meeting tonight at 6, then if approved, the ordinance would be put up for a final vote by the council on Sep. 12th.

An Emergency Room from Adventist Health may be coming to Paradise. But it’s up to the state Legislature. There’s a bill in the Assembly now that would allow the Feather River Hospital to have free-standing emergency rooms. It comes after the Camp Fire which closed down the hospital because of damage. It was the only acute care hospital and the largest employer in Paradise. Other communities also counted on the hospital for care with many residents covered by Medicare or Medicaid with limited access to transportation. Right now it’s not authorized anywhere in Calif. to have free standing Emergency Rooms. The Feather River Health Center is opened again, but there are limited services there because it’s just a clinic, so the closest emergency room is in Chico. The bill has passed several committees and gets a 3rd reading today by the Assembly.

More than a billion dollars allocated by the state Transportation Commission for more than 130 highway projects across the state. 133 State Highway Operation and Protection Program, or SHOPP, projects. The Caltrans director says they’ve been making progress to strengthen the transportation system in the state after Senate Bill 1 passed in 2017, the Road Repair and Accountability Act. The money being used on a backlog of projects, 880 lane miles, 30 bridges, 474 congestion reducing devices, and the repair of 83 culverts to prevent flooding on highways. It includes the 101 in Mendocino County and also Route 1 in Mendocino County.

The Governor has signed a controversial police deadly use of force bill into law after the shooting of an unarmed black man in Sacramento last year. Governor Newsom was surrounded by a number of lawmakers, family members of those who had a relative die in a police shooting and supporters of the legislation as he signed the bill yesterday. The Assembly Bill calls for cops to try first with words instead of weapons to de-escalate a situation. The new law won’t go into effect until next January 1st and states, police can only use deadly force if “necessary in defense of human life.” Right now cops are allowed to shoot if they find it “reasonable.” The new law also says prosecutors should consider police officers’ actions leading to the shooting as they decide if deadly force was justified.